Software:Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania

From HandWiki
Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania
Developer(s)Blue Fang Games
Publisher(s)Microsoft Game Studios, Aspyr Media
SeriesZoo Tycoon
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, MacOS
Release
  • NA: 21 October 2002
  • UK: 15 November 2002
Genre(s)Simulation
Mode(s)Single-player

Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania is a 2002 expansion pack developed by Blue Fang Games and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the 2001 simulation video game Zoo Tycoon. Marine Mania adds marine animals and exhibits to the game, allowing players to add aquatic shows to their park. Upon release, Marine Mania received average reviews, with praise for the variety of new animals, objects and show features, but criticism for the lack of additions that altered the core gameplay. An expansion with an identical name and theme, Software:Zoo Tycoon 2: Marine Mania, was released in 2006.

Gameplay

Tanks are used in Marine Mania to enclose 20 new ocean-based animals in the game.


Marine Mania adds the ability to create aquatic enclosures to display 20 new marine animals, including dolphins, sperm whales, and orcas. Marine enclosures are created by building above-ground tanks, which can be vertically adjusted to increase the depth of water in which the animals can swim.[1] These tanks allow guests to view the animals from the side while they swim underwater, as opposed to simply viewing them from above the surface. Similarly to land animals, marine animals must be kept happy by providing the right balance of additions to their habitats, including a new range of aquatic flora.

An added feature in Marine Mania is the ability to hold Aquatic Shows where certain marine animals such as orcas, sea otters, bottlenose dolphins, and sea lions can perform tricks for visitors in shows held at customizable intervals. Creating shows requires the player to attach special show tanks to animal habitats and place grandstands in proximity to the tanks. Shows can be customized by players to increase visitor happiness and income by adjusting the number and sequence of tricks in a show and placing toys inside the show tank for new tricks.[2] Maintenance of animal needs and performance of shows is handled by a new type of hireable employee, the marine specialist, who fills a role analogous to that of the zookeeper in the original game and the scientist in the Dinosaur Digs expansion.[1]

Marine Mania also adds ten new scenarios, new decorative objects and amenities for players to place in their park, and minor gameplay changes, including the ability to pick up and manually move park guests.[1]

Development and release

Marine Mania was announced by Microsoft in mid-2002,[3][4] with a planned release date of 18 October.[5] Marine Mania was billed as a "double expansion pack", as it also includes the content of the previous expansion, Dinosaur Digs.[6] In 2003, Marine Mania was packaged alongside Dinosaur Digs and the base game as part of a re-release titled Zoo Tycoon: Complete Collection.[7]

Reception

Sales

In December 2002, Marine Mania peaked in ninth place on NPD monthly sales charts, joined by the base game Zoo Tycoon in fifth place.[8] At the time of its release in October 2002, sales for the base game passed a milestone of one million units sold.[9]

Reviews

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic71%[10]
Review scores
PublicationScore
CGWStarStarStar[6]
GameSpot6.2[11]
GameSpy68%[1]
GameZone9.0[12]
Inside Mac Games4.75/10[2]

Marine Mania received "mixed or average" reviews from critics according to review aggregator Metacritic.[10] Several critics praised the value of a double expansion pack containing the Dinosaur Digs content.[6][12] Describing the game as a "decent expansion pack", Carla Harker for GameSpy enjoyed the new objects and scenarios, highlighting the marine shows as "one of the best improvements" to the game, although found the animations to be "poorly done" and unsatisfying.[1] GameZone commended the game for adding a "fun element that was missing from the original", citing the aquatic displays, the colourful designs on the new attractions and landscapes, and the new set of animals.[12] Eddie Park of Inside Mac Games found the game to add a "wealth of content", expressing that the shows and performances were "fun" and added "variety and enjoyment" to the game, but noted the game lacked innovations in its graphics and had few additions in terms of core gameplay.[2] Andrew Park of GameSpot said the game contained problems similar to the original game, including its "unimpressive presentation" and "largely unchanged gameplay", critiquing the shows as unstimulating, but found some of the later scenarios were engaging.[11] Elizabeth McAdams of Computer Gaming World found the game's difficulty to be "practically nonexistent" and that it failed to revitalize the original game.[6]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Harker, Carla (23 November 2002). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania (PC)". Archived from the original on 14 July 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040714012418/http://archive.gamespy.com/reviews/november02/marinemaniapc/. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Park, Eddie (11 December 2003). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania". Archived from the original on 5 January 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20040105060154/https://www.insidemacgames.com/reviews/view.php?ID=452. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  3. ↑ "Zoo Tycoon all at sea". 30 July 2002. https://www.eurogamer.net/article-46408. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  4. ↑ Calvert, Justin (16 September 2002). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania announced". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/zoo-tycoon-marine-mania-announced/1100-2875976/. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  5. ↑ Brown, Jason (10 October 2002). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania Preview". https://www.gamespot.com/articles/zoo-tycoon-marine-mania-preview/1100-2885150/. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 McAdams, Elizabeth (March 2003). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania". Computer Gaming World (224): 108. https://archive.org/details/Computer_Gaming_World_Issue_224/page/n111. 
  7. ↑ Sulic, Ivan (4 July 2003). "More Zoo Tycooning to be Done". https://www.ign.com/articles/2003/07/03/more-zoo-tycooning-to-be-done. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  8. ↑ Laprad, David (23 January 2003). "December's Best Sellers". Archived from the original on 5 March 2003. https://web.archive.org/web/20030305002802/http://www.avault.com/news/displaynews.asp?story=1232003-81426. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  9. ↑ ""Zoo Tycoon" PC Game Celebrates 1 Million Units Sold, Releases "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania" Expansion Pack". 21 October 2002. https://news.microsoft.com/2002/10/21/zoo-tycoon-pc-game-celebrates-1-million-units-sold-releases-zoo-tycoon-marine-mania-expansion-pack. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania". https://www.metacritic.com/game/zoo-tycoon-marine-mania/. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 Park, Andrew (31 October 2002). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania Review". https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/zoo-tycoon-marine-mania-review/1900-2896303/. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 Tha Wiz (27 October 2002). "Zoo Tycoon: Marine Mania". Archived from the original on 29 December 2004. https://web.archive.org/web/20041229230858/http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r20852.htm. Retrieved 17 March 2024. 
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
  • No URL found. Please specify a URL here or add one to Wikidata.





Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Software:Zoo_Tycoon:_Marine_Mania&oldid=3950414"